The aerospace and defense industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the need to lower operational costs, larger consumer trends, and electrification, and growing importance of technologies such as hydrogen and electric aircraft and advanced materials. In the last three years alone, there have been over 237,000 patents filed and granted in the aerospace and defense industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Environmental sustainability in defense: hydrogen fuel cellsBuy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 206,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the aerospace and defense industry, there are 110 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Hydrogen fuel cells is a key innovation area in environmental sustainability

By combining hydrogen and air in the presence of a catalyst, fuel cells produce electricity to drive electric motors, the only by-product being water vapour. Compared to batteries, fuel cells are more energy converters than storage devices.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 960+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established aerospace and defense companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of hydrogen fuel cells.

Key players in hydrogen fuel cells – a disruptive innovation in the aerospace and defense industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.

Patent volumes related to hydrogen fuel cells

Company Total patents (2010 - 2022) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
ENEOS 213 Unlock Company Profile
Intelligent Energy 225 Unlock Company Profile
Landmark Graphics 90 Unlock Company Profile
Robert Bosch 131 Unlock Company Profile
LG Fuel Cell Systems 180 Unlock Company Profile
ExxonMobil Research & Engineering 566 Unlock Company Profile
IdaTech 94 Unlock Company Profile
Nuvera Fuel Cells 198 Unlock Company Profile
Panasonic Corporation of North America 247 Unlock Company Profile
GM Global Technology Operations 109 Unlock Company Profile
Panasonic Intellectual Property Management 1177 Unlock Company Profile
Texaco Development 94 Unlock Company Profile
Casio Computer 111 Unlock Company Profile
Nippon Oil 113 Unlock Company Profile
Toyota Motor 382 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung SDI 248 Unlock Company Profile
Toto 152 Unlock Company Profile
Siemens 160 Unlock Company Profile
Hyundai Motor 261 Unlock Company Profile
Aisin 78 Unlock Company Profile
Nissan Motor 101 Unlock Company Profile
CEA 214 Unlock Company Profile
Naval Group 92 Unlock Company Profile
WATT Fuel Cell 197 Unlock Company Profile
NGK Spark Plug 98 Unlock Company Profile
Honda Motor 395 Unlock Company Profile
Panasonic 2040 Unlock Company Profile
Kyocera 290 Unlock Company Profile
Saudi Arabian Oil 144 Unlock Company Profile
Ballard Power Systems 147 Unlock Company Profile
BASF 90 Unlock Company Profile
FuelCell Energy 232 Unlock Company Profile
Doosan 80 Unlock Company Profile
Bloom Energy 96 Unlock Company Profile
Osaka Gas 216 Unlock Company Profile
Encite 83 Unlock Company Profile
Airbus 148 Unlock Company Profile
Honeywell International 118 Unlock Company Profile
AGC 76 Unlock Company Profile
Societe BIC 87 Unlock Company Profile
Toshiba 162 Unlock Company Profile
Kia 160 Unlock Company Profile
Sumitomo Electric Industries 191 Unlock Company Profile
Ceres Enterprises 82 Unlock Company Profile
AVL List 88 Unlock Company Profile
Grove Hydrogen Automotive 87 Unlock Company Profile
Mcalister Technologies 114 Unlock Company Profile
Renaissance Energy Investment 84 Unlock Company Profile
Aquahydrex 83 Unlock Company Profile
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission 369 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Panasonic is the leading patent filer for hydrogen fuel cells, followed by ExxonMobil and Honda Motor. Other key innovators in the space include Toyota Motor, French Alternative, Kyocera, Hyundai Motor, and Samsung.

H2 KIBOU is a cutting-edge pure hydrogen fuel cell generator developed by Panasonic, which emits zero CO2 and has an impressive electrical efficiency of 56%.

In terms of application diversity, AGC leads the pack, followed by Hyundai, Renaissance Energy Investment, and WATT Fuel Cell. By geographic reach, ExxonMobil is the leading patent filer, followed by Renaissance Energy Investment, WATT Fuel Cell, and Encite.

Hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen powered flight looks to have a bright future with the largest benefit of the technology being that it is emission free, and the only by-product is water.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the aerospace and defense industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Sustainability In Aerospace And Defense.

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.